Special Colloquia

“Asian Corpus of English: Recent Findings”

Convenor

Andy Kirkpatrick, Griffith University

Abstract:

The symposium will start with a brief presentation by Andy Kirkpatrick, the symposium organiser, on the most recent developments of the use of English as a lingua franca in the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN). Its role as an essential tool in promoting and creating a sense of ASEAN identity, as noted by the ASEAN Secretary General, Le Luong Mong, will be considered.

This will be followed by four interrelated papers, all of which report findings using data from ACE. The abstracts for each of these papers are below.

Participants:

Azirah Hashim (University of Malaya): One Vision, One Identity, One Community: the Role of ELF in the Promotion of an ASEAN Community

James McLellan and David Deterding (University of Brunei Darussalam): Code-switching in the Asian Corpus of English (ACE)

Ee-Ling LOW (National Institute of Education): Phonological Patterning for English as a Lingua Franca in Asia: implications for policy and practice in multilingual Asia

Ian Walkinshaw (Griffith University): You’re so rich! Conversational teasing about wealth among Asian speakers of English

Convenor:

Andrew Blair, University of Sussex

Abstract:

The colloquium presents a series of themed talks and discussion on the application of key ideas emerging from ELF research to language teacher education, with a particular focus on pedagogic resources. Perspectives include pre- and in-service teacher training settings in different countries, analysis of published textbooks, reflections on other pedagogic tools and materials, and notions of ongoing professional development. Findings from current research projects investigating these important areas are reported, and proposals offered for a more effective understanding and integration of ELF realities. The diverse, evolving roles of educators in responding to the needs of lingua franca communicators in multilingual contexts are central to this process, and the aim of these papers is to contribute to both raising awareness and encouraging real change in policy, design and practice in language education.

Participants:

Andrew Blair (University of Sussex): Introduction to the colloquium theme

Convenor:

Jennifer Jenkins, University of Southampton

Abstract:

In her plenary presentation at the ELF8 conference in Beijing, Jenkins discussed her recent reconceptualization of ELF in which multilingualism and translanguaging were central and more developed theoretically in ELF thinking than they had been up to that point. She used the metaphor of ‘seeing the world through the eyes of ELF 1, 2 and 3’ to present ELF research as having been through three phases. That is, it was initially, often as ‘EIL’ (English as an International Language), seen from a World Englishes varieties perspective; later (usually as ELF) it was better understood as something far more fluid and flexible that transcends language variety boundaries; and most recently it has been seen as an altogether more multilingual and less English- (or even ELF-) focused phenomenon, in other words, English as a multilingua franca “in which English is available as a contact language of choice, but is not necessarily chosen” (Jenkins 2015: 73).

In this colloquium the five speakers will consider the notion of English as a multilingua franca in relation to their own research interests. The colloquium will begin by exploring issues of language boundaries, labelling practices, and the ideologies involved in these. It will move on, in the second talk, to look at the relationship between multilingualism, multiculturalism and Transcultural Communication. The other three presentations will focus on specific contexts of English as a multilingua franca use: firstly, multilingual repertoires in both transient and more stable business English communities; secondly, the language ideologies of Chinese users of English and the way those users see their English in relation to the notion of Chinese imagined communities; and finally, how teacher trainers on ELT programmes in Chile conceive the concept of multilingualism-with-English in terms of both dangers and benefits. We will also leave plentiful time for discussion with the audience.

Reference: Jenkins J. 2015. Repositioning English and multilingualism in English as a Lingua Franca. Englishes in Practice 2/3: 123-123.

Participants:

Will Baker (University of Southampton): From intercultural to transcultural communication: multilingualism and multiculturalism in ELF research.

Alessia Cogo (Goldsmiths, University of London): Repertoires and boundaries: questioning multilingualism in ELF.

Gonzalo Perez Andrade (University of Southampton): Understanding the ‘E’ in Chilean ELT programmes: English for multilingual competence or parallel monolingualism?

Ying Wang (University of Southampton): From tolerance to acceptance: English language ideologies in an imagined ELF community.

Convenor:

Barbara Seidlhofer, University of Vienna

Abstract:

In the age of globalization English as a lingua franca is crucial to many areas of professional and private life, including teaching and learning in higher education, science and research, language pedagogy, business, and tourism. ELF research over the last 15 years or so has studied communication via ELF in all these domains, and has shown that countless ELF speakers across the world not only use this means of communication for a vast number of different purposes, but also shape it in the process. This research has also brought about new theoretical developments as it has necessitated a quite radical rethinking of deeply entrenched ideas and attitudes concerning the notions of ‘community’, ‘competence’, ‘effective communication’ and ‘language use and language learning’.

What has, however, only been given fairly scarce attention so far are the kinds of translingual, intercultural interaction where the power differential between the communicating parties is very great, and where the outcomes of these ELF interactions have far-reaching consequences, especially for the weaker side. Such high-stakes encounters happen, every day all over the world, in areas such as asylum procedures, peace-keeping and diplomacy, mediation/conflict resolution, interpreting, language policy and language planning, international publishing, and testing.

These unequal encounters call for a particularly critical consideration and awareness of the lingua franca role of English, but this is often not in evidence. Therefore, this symposium will be dedicated to the discussion of the role of ELF in such high-stakes encounters. The participants will explore whether, and how, an explicit and agreed-upon reconceptualization of the means of communication in these settings – not as ‘English’ riddled by nation-language ideology, but as English as a lingua franca – may be appropriate and feasible, and what difference this could make for the (sometimes literally) vital issues of misunderstanding, alienation, inequity, and disenfranchisement that often beset such intercultural encounters.

The session will have a format that allows free-ranging discussion to develop among the panellists and with the members of the audience. Therefore, there will not be a sequence of formal presentations, but instead the panellists will first engage in discussion amongst themselves and then invite comments from the respondent and contributions from the audience.

Convenors:

Beatriz Lorente, University of BaselRuanni Tupas, National Institute of Education (Singapore)

Abstract:

Unequal Englishes is the idea that the pluralities associated with English are inextricably embedded in various forms of unequal relations between people, communities, institutions and states. It assumes that Englishes are all linguistically equal but that their political legitimacies are uneven. It also highlights various forms of inequality in the hope of clearing social and ideological spaces from which to mount mobilizations towards linguistic equality. While much has been said and written about the globalization of English, the descriptions and appraisals of ‘global Englishes’ assume a lateral spread of these Englishes, thus constructing diversities and speakers in interlocking stable relations. Due to globalization, however, English travels with its speakers across time and spaces and, in the process, takes on various meanings, identities and, most especially, economic and ideological values, as it interacts with new linguistic ecologies. As such, the situated spaces and processes of English language use enact differentiated and unequal practices of relations and interactions, thus making English language spread simultaneously uneven, reproductive, and transformative. This colloquium examines how inequalities between Englishes and between English speakers are produced in transnational and subnational contexts where English is supposed to function as a lingua franca. It aims to demonstrate how unequal Englishes are productive linguistic practices which (re)configure relationships, identities and discourses. The papers in this colloquium map out the specific geopolitical, intercultural and/or interpersonal configurations of these contexts to reveal not only how English diversifies and is transformed through talk and texts but, more importantly, how its diversities mobilize and are mobilized by specific and situated forms of inequality.

Participants:

Ruanni Tupas (National Institute of Education, Singapore): English on the street: tracing class configurations in the linguistic

Ron Darvin (University of British Columbia):Unequal Englishes, social class and the positioning of migrant youth

Brook Bolander (University of Hong Kong):Probing the political economy of English for the transnational Ismaili Muslim community

Beatriz Lorente (University of Basel and University of Fribourg):The (English-speaking) Other looks back

Convenor:

Phan Le Ha,University of Hawaii at Manoa

Abstract:

This colloquium pays specific attention to questions of identities among ELF/EIL speakers in global contexts. It highlights nuances and paradoxes embedded in and arising from speakers’ negotiations of social status, professionalism, identity positioning, and enactments of certain roles and selves in responding to competing pressures and ideologies regarding the role of English. It challenges the romanticization of the ‘sweet’ triumph of ELF development and pushes the field to confront difficult questions more rigourously and beyond the ideological level.

Participants:

Phan Le Ha (University of Hawaii at Manoa): Confusing the obvious: Why are people questioning the language of my entire schooling?

Convenors:

Abstract:

The Colloquium focuses on applications of the ELF-aware approach to pedagogy, teacher education and materials design and evaluation. It presents case studies from different contexts of the Expanding Circle (Brazil, Greece, Portugal and Turkey) and aims at raising awareness of the gains and challenges of ELF-aware applications for teachers, teacher educators, policy makers and material designers.

Participants:

Lili Cavalheiro (U. of Lisbon, ULICES) and Luís Guerra (U. of Evora, ULICES): “Changing practices and building materials in Portuguese ELT classes: from EFL to ELF”

Convenor:

Anna Mauranen, University of Helsinki

Abstract:

This workshop presents the first findings from an international research collaboration seeking to explore multilingual practices on university campuses. All the universities advertise their international orientation, with English as the principal means of communication. What needs deeper exploration, however, is to what degree do actual realities match the avowed principles. We therefore delve into the linguistic practices people are engaged in, and what personal and collective meanings are involved. We look into policies, practices and multilingual realities with an ethnographic case study approach. Our team is based on a research project between the universities of Helsinki and Southampton, and our nine collaborating teams come from Europe, Asia, and Australia, each exploring the uses of language in their home university campuses. The workshop presents the first findings on our joint research, painting a wide picture of how the issues are tackled in different parts of the world